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December 22, 2006 Pro-life forces plan D.C. march by Jennifer Brinker, Review Staff Writer It's time again to start making plans to attend the 34th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 22. The annual march commemorates the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Last year's march drew more than 100,000 people from across the country, including thousands of people from the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The largest organized trip to Washington from the St. Louis area is the Missouri-Illinois Life Caravan, offered through Missouri Right to Life. As of this week, there were 11 buses scheduled to go on the caravan. Cost is $130 per person, which includes a round-trip bus ticket to Washington, D.C. The deadline for reservations is Wednesday, Jan. 10. The caravan will depart Sunday, Jan. 21. Participants will board buses at prearranged meeting points across St. Louis and Metro East. All groups will meet at the St. Louis Gateway Arch Downtown for a prayer rally and media conference before leaving on the overnight trip to Washington. Groups will arrive at their destination the morning of Jan. 22, where they will meet with members of Congress and listen to speakers from 9-11:30 a.m. on the top floor of the Hart Senate Office Building. The noon march and rally near the Washington Monument will follow. Later in the afternoon, they will attend appointments with senators, members of Congress and their aides. The overnight trip back to St. Louis is expected to arrive the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 23. Caravan spokesperson Connie Eller said this year's focus with legislators will be Missouri's passage of Amendment 2, which constitutionally protects human cloning and embryonic-stem cell research. "Something has to be done to remedy that," Eller said of the amendment's passage Nov. 7. "We need to advocate for ethical adult stem-cell research and to definitely see to it that Missouri taxpayers don't get ripped off." She added that those attending the caravan will meet with lawmakers to talk about other pro-life legislative issues on the national and state levels. The Missouri-Illinois Life Caravan is open to anyone over age 7. Youths ages 7-18 must be accompanied by an adult. To make reservations or for more information on the caravan, including a list of pickup points, call Tricia Davies at (314) 822-8516 or e-mail her at lifecara [log in to unmask] Or visit Missouri Right to Life's website at www.missourilife.org. There also are a number of groups travelling separately from the Missouri-Illinois Life Caravan. They include St. Gertrude School in Krakow; St. Francis Borgia Grade School, PSR and Regional High School in Washington; Most Sacred Heart in Eureka; St. Louis University Students for Life; St. Monica in Creve Coeur; and St. Pius X High School in Festus. Some 900 teens and their chaperones from the archdiocese also are expected to take part in Life Really Matters, the largest contingency of youths from the area to attend the March for Life. The annual event is organized by a team of local teachers, youth ministers and campus ministers, said Greg Robeson, regional director for Southside Youth Ministry, a regional youth ministry effort in the South St. Louis area. Robeson said about 600 people already have registered for the trip. Teens can still sign up, he noted, but they must join a parish or school youth group already registered to go on the trip. He encouraged teens to check with their school or parish youth group for more information. Teens will attend a sendoff event Friday, Jan. 19, at St. Joseph Parish in Cottleville. Father Christopher Martin, associate pastor, is helping to organize the program, which will feature speakers, music and praise, and worship. Father Martin also will celebrate Mass for the teens. While in Washington, teens will stay at a Doubletree Hotel and participate in programs there Jan. 20 and 21. Highlights include Karl Zimmerman and the Big House Band and several speakers. Teens also will participate in Mass and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Before the Jan. 22 March for Life, St. Louis teens will join more than 20,000 young people from across the country at the Verizon Center (formerly MCI Center) for the Rally for Life and Youth Mass, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke also will participate in several activities to commemorate the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision. On Jan. 20, the archbishop will celebrate a Mass at 8 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Lindell Boulevard and Newstead Avenue. Afterward, he will lead a procession and prayer vigil to the nearby Planned Parenthood abortion facility. Archbishop Burke will depart for Washington, D.C., Jan. 21 and concelebrate the Vigil Mass for Life at 8 p.m. that night at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The main celebrant and homilist will be Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, former archbishop of St. Louis. On Jan. 22, Archbishop Burke will celebrate Mass for Missouri-Illinois Life Caravan pilgrims at 7 a.m. at Holy Rosary Church in Washington. He also will participate in the rally and march. Kenrick-Glennon Seminary is sending a contingency of 53 seminarians and four priests to this year's March for Life, said Matthew DeBlock, a third-year student at Kenrick School of Theology. Leading the group will be president-rector Msgr. Ted Wojcicki; Father Edward Richard, vice rector, dean of students and associate professor of moral theology; Father Randy Soto, associate professor of Sacred Scripture-New Testament; and Father C. Eugene Morris, episcopal vicar for the Office of the Permanent Diaconate and adjunct professor at the seminary. The seminarians, said DeBlock, will leave for Washington, D.C., Jan. 19 and plan on attending several events, including the youth Mass and rally at the Verizon Center, the Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception and the Mass with Archbishop Burke at Holy Rosary the morning of the march. "We encourage the guys to do some sightseeing, to tie in the element of history ... and the whole constitutional aspect of why we're standing up for the pro-life movement," said DeBlock. "It's important for guys to experience that atmosphere in Washington, D.C., and tie that in with what the Church is teaching and how we incorporate that with our faith." Advertisers' linked sites are provided for our readers' convenience and may offer products and services that do not exclusively reflect the practices of the Catholic Church. 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